A Weird Christmas Tale
by Crimson Fox4
Summary: What happens when you mix a mistletoe happy Finn, a mouse, dirty dishes, and a secret santa exchange together? Why you get one of the 'weirdest' Christmas' ever! At least according to Piper that is.... What do you think will happen once mistletoe appears?
1. Chapter 1

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Hey everyone! As my Christmas gift to all of you fine readers out there, over the past month or two, I've concocted a very... interesting holiday themed story for all of you! Isn't that exciting?

**Yes, I know a lot of other authors are posting up Christmas and winter themed stories as well, but hey, you'll still read this one, right? ;)**

**Anyways, This story is going to be about four or five chapters long, and will _hopefully _be done by Christmas Eve... we'll have to wait and see about that... but it will get finished no matter what!**

**Well, enough talking from me, enjoy the first chapter of _A Weird Christmas Tale_ (A la Storm Hawks of course!)**

**I do not own the Storm Hawks, they are the property of Nerd Corps.**

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A Weird Christmas Tale

_Chapter 1_

_Twas' the night before Christmas,_

_And all through the house,_

_Not a thing was stirring,_

_Not even a –_

"MOUSE!" Finn cried as he jumped onto the table in the centre of the bridge to avoid the small scurrying creature that had been running around by his feet only moments before.

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_Okay, so maybe there are things stirring tonight, and maybe we Storm Hawks don't live in a house, but it __**is **__Christmas Eve!_

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"Get away!" Finn yelled from atop the table as the mouse just stared up at him, puzzlement obvious from the way it stood on its back legs, regarding Finn curiously with its whiskers twitching from side to side.

"It can smell your fear!" I heard Stork screech from across the room.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I put the squadron log down and got up from my spot on the bridge floor where I had thrown a pillow or two only a few minutes ago.

Walking towards the table where Finn was making a scene, now joined by Junko, Stork and Radarr, I bent down and scooped the poor little mouse up just as Aerrow walked onto the bridge carrying a few small presents.

Aerrow just looked at the rest of our team-mates on the table sceptically before he said, "Guys, I don't think I even _want_ to know."

"But there was a mouse!" Finn whined as Junko and the others on the table nodded their heads vigorously in agreement.

I just rolled my eyes at Finn's comment as Aerrow glanced at me with confusion on his face.

Shrugging his shoulders as if the reiterate his earlier saying of 'I don't think I even want to know', Aerrow set his presents beneath the undecorated tree that we had set up on the bridge of the Condor about half an hour or so ago.

Looking around at all of the cardboard boxes that were strewn about the floor, I noticed that all of them were open, yet none of the Christmas decorations appeared to have even been touched yet.

I was about to tell the guys to hurry up and get off the table to help out when Aerrow put his hand on my shoulder and leaned in trying to look at the mouse as he asked, "This little guy was the cause of all the screaming?"

"You bet." I replied as I handed Aerrow the small white mouse. Aerrow smirked for a moment before he quickly handed it back to me.

"Stay back you two!" Stork exclaimed as he pointed a spatula at Aerrow and I.

As Aerrow and I exchanged glances, I knew he was thinking what I was, _'Where in the Atmos did that spatula come from?'_

Continuing to rant, Stork cried, "Do you _know_ how many diseases mice carry?!?!"

"Calm down Stork!" I told my green squad-mate as I walked around to the other side of the table.

When I bent down to grab something I had hidden underneath the table earlier on in the day, I heard a bunch of yelps of surprise before a muted thud met my ears with the sound followed by that of moaning.

Looking up with a cage in hand, I noticed that the table had flipped, pinning all of the boys but Aerrow underneath it. I just shook my head as Junko lifted the table up off of him and his friends before he returned it to its usual upright position.

I set the cage down on the table before things went suddenly silent as I opened the small door of the wire cage. Glancing up from what I was doing, I was met with the sight of Radarr, Finn, Stork and Junko all hiding behind Aerrow.

"Honestly guys!" I began as I put the mouse inside of its cage before closing and securing the door. "It's a mouse! Why are you all so afraid of it?"

"Well…" Finn drawled before he said, "They carry fleas."

As Finn shuddered at the thought, Stork added, "Diseases!"

"They're too… _white_." Junko told us after Stork's interjection.

Pointing towards the mouse, Radarr squawked and whined, everyone looking at him dumbfounded except for Stork who muttered, "Quite true, quite true…."

I threw my hands up into the air in defeat as I told them, "I figured you guys would enjoy a mouse as a present for Christmas. After all, you've all been bugging me to let you guys have a pet, Finn and Junko being the worst might I add."

With the four of them still not emerging from the hiding place behind their Sky Knight, I exclaimed, "It's _just_ a mouse guys!" With them still not moving an inch, I reminded them, "We still have decorations to put up you know...."

As I trailed off, the boys looked at each other sheepishly, and I suspected they weren't too thrilled at the thought of helping me _decorate_ of all things.

Sighing, I admitted silent defeat before I informed them, "If you guys help, I'll keep the mouse in _my_ room, how's that?"

"Works for me!" Finn exclaimed, not missing a beat.

While Radarr's only response was unclamping himself from Aerrow's head, Stork turned to me, pointing his spatula in my face as he said, "It's your funeral Piper! When you get sick with some deadly disease, don't say I didn't warn you…"

I blinked my eyes several times, not sure how to reply to Stork's remark when Aerrow said, "Good!" Now that we've all agreed on that, how about we hurry up and help Piper with the decorations?"

"Alright!" Junko exclaimed smiling, heading towards the crates with lights in them with Finn and Stork in tow.

"I guess that leaves the three of us to work on the tree!" Aerrow said to Radarr and I.

Giving my Sky Knight a grateful smile, we walked over to the one part of the bridge floor where the boxes filled with Christmas tree decorations were.

His eyes skimmed doubtfully over all of the contents of the boxes before Aerrow asked me, "Do we really need _all_ this?"

Lifting up one of the boxes, I began to head towards the tree as I asked, "Didn't you help me out with the tree last year?"

As I set the box I had been carrying down near the tree, I turned around to head back across the bridge to get another only to run into an unsuspecting Aerrow. I say unsuspecting because he could hardly see anything past the rest of the boxes which he was carrying.

I heard a muffled "Oof" Come from Aerrow before after a bit of a balancing act he managed to only let one of the boxes he was carrying fall off of his leaning pile.

Letting out a small grunt as he lowered the rest of his cardboard box tower to the ground, Aerrow made sure they wouldn't fall over before he walked over and asked me, "You alright Piper?"

Rubbing the back of my head that I had banged on the floor after I fell from bumping into Aerrow, I replied, "Yeah, I think so." Giving me an amused grin, Aerrow pulled me to my feet after I had grasped his outstretched hand.

While I was dusting myself off, I asked, "Where did that one box go that fell?"

"I don't really know…" Aerrow trailed off as we both began to look around the floor where we stood. Shrugging his shoulders, Aerrow repeated his question from a minute or two ago, saying, "Do we really need all of this stuff? I mean, there are five boxes of decorations just for the _tree_."

I just shook my head as I answered, "Like I said before, didn't you help me decorate the tree last year?"

"Well, yeah…" Aerrow replied as he rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly. "But I only helped out near the end once I had finished up with hanging all of the lights, we weren't able to rope the others into helping us last Christmas, remember?"

"I guess that's true, but at least they're helping this year."

"Who knew that all it would take as motivation for them would be a mouse?" Aerrow joked as we began to unpack the cardboard boxes that were filled to the brim with tinsel, garland, lights, and glass ball ornaments.

Laughing as we began the process of decorating the tree, I replied, "Yeah, who knew?"

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**The second chapter is in the works, and part of the final chapter is done as well (Don't ask) but anyways, I'm going to be busy for most of tomorrow, so expect the next update Tuesday sometime!**

**Crimson Fox4**

**PS. Yes, this is a romance fic, but that stuff starts next chapter ;) And for those of you reading this hoping for a humorous story, This chapter may end up being the funniest one, but I'll let you be the judge of that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well.... er.... ummm.... I don't have a whole lot to say this time around except that... wow.... Christmas was over pretty much a month ago and I still have more of this story to type up....**

**Well, enjoy!**

**I don't own the Storm Hawks, they are the property of Nerd Corps.**

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Chapter 2

It wasn't long until Finn, Junko, and Stork had finished with the lights, and were standing around the tree, watching as Aerrow, Radarr, and I put the finishing touches on it.

"Well," I told the others as I backed up from the tree to admire our work. "I think it looks great, but it's just missing one thing…"

I could feel all of my team-mates' eyes on me as I walked over to a box and pulled out the last ornament to be put on the tree. Holding it up for the others to see, I heard Aerrow whisper, "The angel - of course!"

Bending down next to Radarr, I whispered some instructions in his ear before I handed him the angel with one final warning of "Be careful!" before Radarr climbed the tree with ease, setting the angel atop it with care.

A smile came to my face as Radarr jumped down from the evergreen and landed on Aerrow's shoulders. As we all stood around the tree, admiring our handiwork, I glanced up at the clock and saw that it was getting late.

Following my gaze, Aerrow wasted no time in telling everyone, "It's getting pretty late, how about we all go get our presents from our rooms and put them under the tree before calling it a night?"

Everyone nodded, and soon Aerrow and I were the only ones left on the bridge as Junko, Finn, Stork, and even Radarr had left for their rooms.

Heading towards where I had left the squadron log, I heard Aerrow ask, "Why aren't you going to your room?"

Turning around and grinning as I pointed towards the base of the now decorated tree, I told him, "My presents are already there."

Aerrow chuckled as he said, "I should've known earlier when I was putting mine under the tree that it was your presents for everyone that were already there."

I continued to grin as I sat down on a chair and set the logbook on the table. I began to open the log in order to continue my entry from before I was interrupted by Finn's over the top yelling.

Just as I was about to begin writing, Aerrow leaned against the chair next to me. Looking down, he questioned, "What are you doing?"

Not bothering to look up, I replied, "Well, it's more of a question of what I _was_ doing."

"Meaning?" Aerrow asked as he sat down in the chair he had just been leaning on.

"Meaning I was writing today's squadron log entry when I had to stop to 'rescue' the rest of the guys from the mouse."

"I see…" Aerrow began before he leaned over to try and see what I was writing. He had to lean over so far that I soon felt his shoulder leaning into mine.

Laughing, I closed the book before I looked at him and asked, "Aerrow, _what_ are you doing?"

Holding his hands up in front of him in a gesture of innocence, Aerrow replied, "You never know what could be written in there!"

"Like?" I questioned my friend as I got up and returned the squadron log to its spot on the shelf as I _knew_ I wasn't about to get the daily entry done anytime soon.

Getting up and following me, out of the corner of my eye I saw Aerrow shrug his shoulders before he stated in false seriousness, "You could've had everyone's 'Secret Santa' written down in there for all I know."

Once again laughing, I teased, "You can't wait until tomorrow to find out? I figured Finn would be asking me questions like this, not you!"

"Are you trying to compare me to Finn?" Aerrow asked of me, a fake flabbergasted expression pasted onto his face.

"Possibly..." I replied in jest as I walked towards the bridge door.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Aerrow exclaimed as he cut me off by standing in the middle of the pathway between where I stood and the doorway in an attempt to stop me from leaving.

"And how do you suppose you'll stop me?" I asked as I began to sidestep him only to feel his hands brushing against my ribcage and stomach.

As I fought to control my ever growing giggles Aerrow whispered in my ear, "I think I've managed to stop you pretty well, thanks."

I was about to reply when Aerrow began to tickle me more, my giggles turning into helplessly uncontrollable laughter.

Just when I thought my lungs would burst from laughing so much, Aerrow stopped and as I composed myself, he asked, "Now will you admit that I'm _not_ like Finn?"

Finally having caught my breath again, I crossed my arms before saying, "I don't know… you have to admit that tickling me _was_ pretty Finn like…."

"Alright, have it your way..." Aerrow said as he shrugged his shoulders.

I once again began to sidestep my friend before he dove in, tickling me with a vengeance as I squealed, "AERROW!" before I let myself collapse to the ground, hoping that he might give up.

Unfortunately when I fell, I rolled which caused Aerrow to trip over me before he fell as well, except that unlike me he landed on something softer than the bridge floor. In other words, he landed on _me._

Opening my eyes that I had automatically closed when Aerrow began to fall, I blinked several times at the sight that met me before my brain finally registered that Aerrow's face was just above mine.

As an awkward silence passed between us, I began to blush slightly because of Aerrow being so close to me, and because I hadn't really thought about it until now, but Aerrow's eyes were a very mesmerizing green colour.

After another moment or two of staring at each other, Aerrow turned his head away and I noticed that his cheeks had turned a slightly pink colour as well.

I saw Aerrow look at me from the corner of his eye before he gave me a lop-sided grin and asked, "Are you going to take it back yet?"

Returning his grin, I replied, "And what happens if I don't?"

"Well…" Aerrow began as he lowered himself down slightly so that he was supporting less of his weight compared to earlier before he continued, "I could crush you into taking it back."

"Or you could just forgive me…" I challenged Aerrow as I felt myself being forced to support more and more of his weight as he slowly squished me, but it suddenly stopped as I saw that Aerrow was actually looking thoughtful. Taking advantage of his distracted state, I managed to roll myself over, with Aerrow along for the ride until I had him pinned down on the floor.

Aerrow just grinned as he asked, "I suppose I don't have a choice now, do I?"

"Nope." I replied, my grin growing as well.

Shaking his head slightly Aerrow whispered, "Fine, I forgive you Piper."

"Now was that so hard?" I asked my friend, smirking.

"I suppose not, but do I get to stand up now?"

Grinning a little I pretended to think about whether I should let Aerrow up or not, but I squeaked in surprise as Aerrow quickly pushed me off of him and onto the floor before he stood up.

Looking down at where I was still sprawled out on the floor, Aerrow asked, "Are you getting up anytime soon, or did you want Stork's speech about how many germs collect on the ground?"

Rolling my eyes, I replied sarcastically, "But I've always wanted to hear _that_ one on Christmas Eve!"

Aerrow just shook his head before he stood at my feet and offered me his hands, saying, "Do you want some help up or not?" I shrugged my shoulders as I grasped his hands with my own. Chuckling, Aerrow said, "I guess that's a yes!" Before he pulled me to my feet with ease.

Unfortunately since when Aerrow pulled me up he was standing so close to my feet, I now found myself abnormally close to my Sky Knight again who for some reason was still holding my hands.

Looking up, I was about to ask him to let go of them when I soon found myself lost in his eyes once more, but after a few moments I finally realized what I was doing.

Taking a small step back from Aerrow, I quickly averted my eyes from his as I tried to push down the heat that was beginning to spread across my cheeks again as I said quietly, "Thanks for the help."

I took another small step backwards, and my hands finally slipped out of Aerrow's before he began to rub the back of his head, saying, "No problem Piper, I guess it was my fault you were on the ground anyways."

"I guess so." I replied, laughing nervously, with Aerrow soon joining in.

As our laughter faded, another awkward silence was avoided as the rest of our team filed onto the bridge, each with a few presents in their hands.

Setting his gifts underneath the Christmas tree first, Radarr quickly ran over to where I stood next to Aerrow, and Radarr wasted no time in jumping onto the redhead's shoulder.

Giving Radarr a quick pat on the head, I turned around to see Stork place his gifts on the table, no doubt trying to avoid any germs that may have been still lurking on the floor that hadn't been transferred to mine or Aerrow's uniforms, but Stork of course didn't know that.

Stork turned around and looked at Aerrow and I for a moment with a raised eyebrow before muttering "Mindworms…." As he turned away from us and began to walk over to the helm of the Condor.

Aerrow watched Stork go before he also turned around and looked at me with a confused look on his face. Shrugging my shoulders in reply, I turned around and faced the tree when I heard Finn cry, "I was looking for this!"

It was now Aerrow's turn to shrug after he saw my confused face. Walking over to the Christmas tree, Aerrow called, "What did you find Finn?"

As I began to walk towards where Finn was kneeling on the ground with his head hidden underneath the lower boughs of the tree in order to grab something, he exclaimed, "Only the best Christmas decoration ever invented!"

"Even better than gingerbread men cookies you hang on the tree?" Junko asked, perplexed.

"_Way_ better than that my good buddy." Finn answered, his voice slightly muffled due to being under the tree.

Still not being quite sure what Finn was talking about, everyone on the bridge exchanged confused looks with each other until Finn's head reappeared from beneath the tree and moments later he revealed what he had found with a flourish - a cardboard box.

Eyeing Aerrow, I asked, "Is that the box of decorations for the Christmas tree that we lost?"

"I think so," Aerrow replied before adding, "But I don't think we were missing any decorations, if anything we have more than last year."

Glancing up at the tree, I realized that what Aerrow had just pointed out was true. I began to nod and was about to voice my agreement before Finn cried, "But it's _not_ tree decorations!" Enjoying the puzzled looks on our faces for a moment, Finn squealed, "It's mistletoe!"

"Mistletoe?" Aerrow, Junko, and I chorused together dubiously.

"Yup!" Finn exclaimed happily. "Now if any cute girls show up on the ship tomorrow, I can 'accidentally' end up underneath the mistletoe with them, and you know what _that_ means!" Finn concluded, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I think I'm going to hurl." I muttered to myself as I quickly turned away from Finn and slowly headed off of the bridge and towards my room. Just when I had made it halfway down the hallway, I heard footsteps approaching from behind me.

Turning around, I saw Junko, Finn, and Aerrow with Radarr on his shoulder leaving the bridge, and I assumed they were all heading to their rooms to turn in for the night as well.

As the group of guys walked down the hallway towards me, it became smaller in size as Junko and Finn both went into their respective rooms once they reached them, so soon it was just Aerrow and Radarr that were headed towards where I stood, just a few feet away from my bedroom.

Walking up to me, Aerrow smiled as his co-pilot jumped from his shoulder to mine before Radarr proceeded in wrapping his arms around my neck in a loose hug.

"Hey Piper," Aerrow began cheerily until he must have seen the annoyed look in my eyes. Aerrow was about to say more when Radarr yawned in my ear. Smiling, I took the drowsy Radarr off of my shoulder before handing him over to Aerrow without too much protest on Radarr's part.

Smiling a little as he set his furry blue companion on the ground, Aerrow said quietly, "You go on ahead buddy; I'll be there in a minute."

Looking at Aerrow for a moment as he blinked blearily, Radarr made a tired sound of agreement before he walked down the hall towards the room that he and Aerrow shared.

Turning my head away from Aerrow, I smiled as I watched Radarr slowly make his way down the hallway before I felt a weight on my shoulder.

Turning around, I was surprised to see that Aerrow had placed his hand on my shoulder and was now looking at me worriedly. Once he saw that he had gotten my attention, Aerrow lifted his hand from my shoulder before it fell limp at his side while his other hand rubbed the back of his head.

"Piper, are you feeling okay? I mean, you didn't seem all that happy when you left the bridge." Aerrow questioned, a hint of concern I his voice.

Shrugging my shoulders in reply, I gave a mumbled answer to Aerrow's question before I looked down at my feet, my arms crossed.

"Pardon?" I heard Aerrow ask.

Letting out a quiet sigh, I looked up at my friend as I said, "I don't know Aerrow, it's just I hid the mistletoe last year for a reason you know."

"You hid it?" Aerrow asked with a raised eyebrow, a smirk forming on his face.

Grinning a bit, I replied, "Okay, so maybe I didn't _hide_ it, but I did purposefully leave it in the storage room. I guess I forgot about it this year when I sent you guys to go get the decorations."

Aerrow chuckled quietly before he said, "Yep, I suppose you did." Once he had finished chuckling, his face sobered slightly as he asked, "How come you don't want mistletoe up? I thought you were all for Christmas traditions."

I shrugged my shoulders again as I answered, "Of course I am, it's just -" Seeing an expectant look on Aerrow's face, I crossed my arms and looked down at the floor once more as I said quietly, "It's just this tradition is different to say the least I guess. It probably doesn't help that out of the six people living on the ship, I'm the only girl…"

Glancing up at Aerrow from the corner of my eye, I saw his confused face soften a bit, understanding appearing in his eyes before he mumbled, "I'm sorry Piper, I didn't know you felt like that."

Smiling a bit, I told him, "Don' worry Aerrow, I doubt Finn managed to put any up tonight, he just went to bed after all."

Chuckling nervously, Aerrow began to rub the back of his head yet again as he said, "Yeah… about that…"

Glancing at Aerrow, I raised one of my eyebrows in question before he continued, saying, "You're right, Finn didn't put any up tonight because I told him it was too late. _But_ I did tell him that once he gets up tomorrow he can hang up as much as he wants…"

Looking at me sheepishly, Aerrow quickly added, "I'm sorry! I wouldn't have let him hang up any at all if I had known what I know now."

Grinning, I replied, "Don't worry about it Aerrow, I'm sure I can handle a little mistletoe."

Returning my grin, Aerrow said encouragingly, "Besides, we might actually get some decent sleep this year if Finn is going to be busy putting it up for awhile in the morning."

I couldn't help but laugh as I told Aerrow, "Too bad Finn is doing it for nothing! I doubt we'll have any visitors tomorrow let alone any 'cute' girls crazy enough to let Finn kiss them, mistletoe or not."

Aerrow joined in my laughter before he said, "See, that's where Finn's blind."

"What do you mean?" I asked, searching Aerrow's face for a moment, trying to find a clue as to why he had just called our team's sharpshooter blind.

I saw a tad of pink appear on Aerrow's cheeks before he looked at me and said quietly, "He's too busy looking for a 'cute' girl that he doesn't realize that there's a smart, beautiful, independent girl on the Condor already."

I couldn't find anything to say when I realized that Aerrow had just been talking about me, and that he thought that I was smart and independent. He even called me beautiful!

When I was finally able to shake off the surprise, I felt my cheeks grow warm, but before I could even give Aerrow a mumbled thanks, he said, "See you in the morning Piper."

As Aerrow passed me, he gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder, and before I knew it, I was standing alone in the hallway, stunned.

Turning towards the door of my room, I stared at it for a moment before I shook my head to clear my confusing thoughts. Pressing the button on the wall next to my door, it opened with a quiet whooshing noise.

As I entered my room, I couldn't help but think, _'This is going to be an interesting Christmas....'_

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So, I hope you guys liked this MONTH late addition to this story.... hopefully now that exams are over I can get the rest of this story typed up fairly quickly, but I'm sure real life will intervene like it always does ;)

**Anyways, thanks for being so patient with me everyone!**

**Crimson Fox4**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Here's the third chapter everyone! Sorry again that this is sort of out of season and all, but hey, I'm determined to get it done! xD**

**I do not own the Storm Hawks, they are the property of Nerd Corps.**

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Chapter 3

_The tree lights up,_

_A brilliant angel atop,_

_Shouts echo down the halls as the children awake – _

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"It's Christmas!" came the shouts of Finn and Junko came through my closed door as I heard their footsteps running up and down the hall as they began to knock our doors down.

I really wouldn't be all that surprised if Junko did knock a door down; Stork's door had been the victim of their excitement last year after all.

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"_It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Oh happy day!"_

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Smiling as I finished the final line of the short poem I had been writing in my journal, I couldn't help but giggle as I heard Finn and Junko run away from what I presumed was a very mad Merb, as I overheard Stork yell after them, "Don't you dare hurt my door! It took weeks to fix the airtight seal last year!"

Getting up from where I had been sitting on my bed, I walked over to the stool by my desk. Grabbing it, I dragged it to the corner of the room nearest the door.

Making sure the stool was sturdy, I quickly climbed up onto it, and as I stood on the seat with one hand holding my journal, I used the other to loosen the ceiling tile above my head.

Sliding the tile over just a bit, I slipped my journal back into its hiding place away from the guys' prying eyes. Satisfied that it was hidden, I returned the tile to its usual position before I jumped off of the stool and returned it to its proper place as well.

Looking at the clock next to my bed, I saw that it was only 6:45 in the morning. _'Christmas has to be the only day in the whole year that Finn gets up before eight!' _I thought to myself, shaking my head as I left my room and headed into the hallway.

Going in the opposite direction as I would to get to the bridge, I walked through a doorway at the end of the hallway closest to my room. This particular doorway led to the kitchen, and much to my surprise, it was pretty empty for a Christmas morning.

"Where is everybody?" I mumbled to myself as I got a couple of frying pans out of the cupboard and set them on the nearby stove.

'_Junko and Finn must still be having fun getting chased by Stork,' _I thought as I rooted around in the fridge to find something to cook up for the squad for breakfast. _'And I would say that Aerrow and Radarr are still sleeping, but I really doubt it with all the noise the rest of the guys were making this morning!'_

Smiling to myself, I took some eggs and a package of bacon out of the fridge before I shut the door, shaking my head at Finn's cartooned drawing of the Dark Ace which had several purple stains on it due to the guys enjoying using it as a target so much.

After the food had been cooking for a few minutes, I guess the smell must have gotten strong enough to lure one of my team-mates into the kitchen as someone behind me said, "Smells good, Piper!"

Startled that someone had suddenly appeared behind me, in an automatic reaction of self-defence, I raised the spatula I had been stirring the eggs came up near my face to be a makeshift weapon if needed. Unfortunately this action only caused the left side of my face to be splattered with half-cooked scrambled eggs.

Turning around slowly, spatula still in hand, I soon realized that it had been Aerrow who had surprised me. It turns out the Radarr had been on his shoulder, and had been unfortunate enough to get some of the scrambled eggs on his face as well, but it looked like Aerrow had it worse than his furry friend did.

Feeling bad, my hands flew to my mouth in shock, but unfortunately I had forgotten about the spatula that was still in my hand, and even more eggs were soon stuck to my face.

Setting the spatula down on the counter, I grabbed a paper towel and blindly wiped as much egg off of my face as possible before I turned back around, new paper towel in hand, as I said, "Sorry Aerrow, Radarr, I didn't mean to get egg on you guys or anything, you just kind of startled me is all."

Aerrow gave me a grin as a piece of egg fell off of his face and unto the floor before he grabbed the paper towel from my outstretched hand. As he began to wipe his and Radarr's face clean of the yellow mess, I walked over to the garbage and threw out the dirty paper towel I had used.

As I walked back towards the stove where Aerrow was standing, he told me, "Don't worry about it Piper, I should've made some noise on the way in or something, that way you would've known I was here."

I shrugged my shoulders before I looked at my friend and giggled, "Do you know how silly you two looked with scrambled eggs on your face?"

Aerrow chuckled for a moment before he questioned with a grin, "Do you know how silly you _still_ look with egg on your face?"

He began to laugh as I raised one of my hands to my face only to realize that he was right after all, I _did _still have egg on my face! I began to laugh a bit as well as I took the paper towel his co-pilot offered me before I tried to rid myself of the rest of the eggs.

After a few moments, I stopped and asked Aerrow and Radarr, "Any better?"

Not missing a chance to have a little fun, Aerrow pretended to scrutinize me before he replied, "I think you missed a piece."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Alright wise guy, where is it?" Aerrow just shrugged his shoulders in response to my question which caused me to exclaim, "You're just going to let me walk around all day with egg on my face then?"

Shaking his head no in reply, I was about to speak again when Aerrow licked his thumb before cupping my face in his hands, and wiped the last piece off of my face.

Beginning to feel my cheeks flush a bit from my Sky Knight's gesture, I gave him a small smile and a mumbled 'thanks' as he let go of my face, although we both seemed to be unable to pry our gaze from each other's eyes.

Finally realizing what I was doing when I heard footsteps in the hallway, I blinked a few times and turned around to continue cooking breakfast, but I didn't miss the slightly surprised and confused face Radarr was currently sporting.

After a bit of an awkward moment, I heard Aerrow clear his throat before he asked, "So… do you need any help with breakfast or anything Piper?"

"You could set the table if you want." I replied with a shrug, my back still facing my friend.

"You want to help me set the table buddy?" Aerrow said before I heard a positive sounding chirp come from Radarr who I guessed was still on his friend's shoulders.

Hearing the cupboards to my right squeak as they opened, I glanced over only to see that Aerrow was looking my way as well. I turned away quickly once our eyes met, and I could feel my face begin to heat up again, but thankfully before either of us could say anything the door to the kitchen opened.

Putting the cooked eggs and bacon on a couple of plates I had gotten out of the cupboard earlier, I turned around and put them on the table, and looking up, I saw Stork sit down in his usual spot at the table. The thing is I noticed something _really_ weird.

Stork was... _smiling_?

Moving away slowly from the green merb, I tapped Aerrow gently on the back which caused him to turn around and look at me.

Seeing the light shade of pink on his cheeks that I guessed looked much like mine, I subtly pointed out Stork to Aerrow before I whispered, "Why do you think he's smiling?"

Glancing between me and Stork and back again, Aerrow replied, "I'm not really sure, but its sure beginning to creep me out a bit."

I nodded my head in agreement before I turned to Stork and commented casually, "You seem pretty happy this morning Stork, you know, despite Finn and Junko almost knocking down your door… again."

Stork shrugged nonchalantly before he replied with a slightly sinister look adorning his features, "Don't worry about _them_, they got what was coming to 'em."

Exchanging a worried glance with my redheaded friend, I said to Aerrow, "I'll set the table-"

"If I check up on Finn and Junko?" Aerrow finished for me. Nodding my head, Aerrow and Radarr quickly went off in a search to find a certain sharpshooter and wallop. I knew he'd discipline them if need be if they had done something bad, but I had a feeling that Stork had already gone and taken matters into his own hands….

* * *

About five or ten minutes after I had finished setting the table, I was beginning to wonder even more than before what Stork had done to Junko and Finn that it would be taking so long for Aerrow to go and find them. Not to mention the fact that those two never missed a meal on purpose.

I was tempted to ask Stork about it, especially when the sound of a muted thud came down the corridor and into the kitchen. As I stood up from my seat to go to the doorway and see if anyone was coming yet, I took a wild guess that the noise had come from the bridge.

Standing in the doorway that led into the kitchen, I crossed my arms loosely as I saw Aerrow walking down the hallway with the destructive duo in tow. "It's about time." I muttered to myself before I turned around and sat down at my place at the table again.

A few moments later, Finn, Junko, Aerrow and Radarr all walked into the kitchen without even a word of explanation.

Soon everyone was seated in their usual spots, and once Aerrow sat down next to me like normal, he leaned over and his breath began to tickle my ear as he whispered, "I'll tell you later, okay?"

I gave a slight nod of my head to show Aerrow I had heard him as everyone else began to dig into breakfast.

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**Well, I hope you all enjoyed this addition to the story, and just a heads up, we're only about halfway through the story ;)**

**Crimson Fox4**

**PS. I have a new poll up on my profile. I know you'll think it's kind of random and doesn't pertain to anything, but check it out anyways if you please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own the Storm Hawks, they are the property of Nerd Corps.**

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Chapter 4

After breakfast was done, Finn and Junko were excited once more, obviously forgetting that their enthusiasm earlier had only gotten them in trouble with Stork. I couldn't help but roll my eyes while I was clearing the dishes from the table, my two team-mates' whining was getting just a little bit too annoying for my taste.

Picking up about half of the dishes I had gathered, I walked into the kitchen and set them down on the counter next to the sink, and turned to go back and get the rest when I almost ran into Aerrow who was carrying the rest.

Looking around the leaning pile of dishes he was holding, Aerrow grinned at me before he asked, "Where would you like these Piper?"

Returning his grin, I replied, "With the rest by the sink would be great Aerrow, thanks."

Seeing that the rest of my squad-mates were still around the table, I told them, "You guys can head to the bridge if you want, I'll be there as soon as I'm done the dishes, okay?"

"But that'll take _forever_!" Finn whined.

Frowning, I was resisting telling Finn off since it was Christmas and all, but thankfully Aerrow stepped in before my resolve disappeared and said, "Don't worry Finn, I'll stay behind and help Piper, it'll go twice as fast, right?"

Swivelling my head around, I saw Aerrow smiling at me before I grinned and said, "Right!" Finn simply shrugged his shoulders at my reply before he and Junko left for the bridge, Stork following them almost reluctantly.

Turning around to head towards the sink again, I felt something tug at my pant leg before I looked down to see Radarr at my feet. "Hey Radarr." I said smiling as I knelt down closer to him.

Radarr gave me a chur in greeting as I gave him a gentle pat on the head before I asked, "What's up?" In reply, Radarr began motioning towards the door for a moment before I finally figured out what he wanted.

Standing up, I told Aerrow's co-pilot, "Of course you can go with the others Radarr!" Said creature chirped happily before I added with a wink, "Don't let Junko and Finn get into too much trouble though, alright?"

Radarr nodded his head before he gave me a mock salute as he ran off to join the others on the bridge.

Shaking my head in amusement, I walked over to where Aerrow was standing at the sink, a slightly confused look on his face.

Walking up to him, I put a hand on one of his shoulders before I asked, "You okay Aerrow?"

"Yeah," Aerrow began, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion before he asked, "But why is there a turkey in the sink?"

I rolled my eyes teasingly at him as I asked, "How else was I supposed to defrost it Mr. Smarty-pants? You have to put it in water to defrost overnight, didn't you know that?

Looking at me with a smirk on his face, Aerrow replied, "I do now!"

Patting his shoulder before my arm dropped to my side once more, I told him, "It's a good thing we have three sinks, huh?"

"I suppose so." My Sky Knight answered before he began to fill the two remaining sinks with water – one to wash the dishes with, the other to rinse.

We were soon busy washing, rinsing, and finally drying our breakfast dishes before Aerrow said out of the blue, "He wrapped them up."

Pausing what I was doing for a moment, I questioned, "What?"

Glancing at me with mischief in his eyes, Aerrow elaborated saying, "Stork – he wrapped Finn and Junko up in wrapping paper and ribbons."

I couldn't help but snort before I exclaimed, "No way!"

"You better believe it!" Aerrow replied with a growing grin on his face.

"How would he have gotten them to stay still long enough to be able to do that?"

"I don't know, but I'm not totally sure yet I even _want_ to know…."

As Aerrow trailed off, I waited for a moment before I asked, "This has been a really weird Christmas so far, hasn't it?"

Glancing up at Aerrow, I saw him look at me with a goofy grin before asking, "Now what would give you a silly idea like _that_?"

I couldn't help but giggle at Aerrow as he scooped up some of the bubbles from the sink and wiped them on his face to form a Santa looking bubble beard.

As I continued to giggle, I told him, "You're such a goof, you know that right?"

Aerrow opened his mouth to reply but ended up swallowing some of the bubbles which resulted in him making a really weird face at the taste of them.

Holding one hand to my mouth to smother my ever growing snickering, I used the towel in my other hand to wipe away the bubbles from his mouth before he could ingest anymore.

Smiling at me, Aerrow blew a few of the remaining bubbles out of his mouth before he said, "I may be a good, but I'm _your_ goof."

My hand that was wiping the bubbles from his face with the half dry towel froze as his own hand wrapped around it. Looking up at Aerrow in surprise, I couldn't help but get lost in his kind – almost loving – green eyes.

Lowering his hand that was clasped in mine still, he moved our hands from near his face lower until they were in between us, hanging down comfortably. Aerrow gave me another smile, and with an almost tentative look in the back of his eyes, his other hand groped about for my free hand until he found it, and soon it was between us as well.

As I stood there with Aerrow holding my hands, I tried to figure out what the strange feeling in the pit of my stomach was, but I couldn't quite place it, but I knew that whatever I was feeling was causing a light blush to begin to appear on my cheeks.

I heard Aerrow take a deep breath before he opened his mouth again to say something when I heard the door to the kitchen open.

My eyes widened in surprise when I realized that Aerrow and I were now holding each other's hands in front of one or more of our team-mates.

My eyes darted between Aerrow's equally surprised face and our hands before I took a small step away from Aerrow and withdrew my hands before I turned to the sink and continued to dry the dishes as though nothing had happened. I couldn't help but notice Aerrow's slightly disappointed look as I let go of his hands though.

Silence hung in the room for a few moments that felt like a lifetime before I heard a chirp of confusion come from the door causing me to sigh mentally.

'_It's only Radarr again.' _I thought in relief, knowing that Finn would have had a heyday should he have been the one to find Aerrow and I in the position we had been in moments before.

As I continued to dry the dishes, I heard Radarr make a series of chirps and growls that I imagined were paired with movements and such before I heard Aerrow say, "Alright, I'm coming buddy."

I quickly began to wonder what was going on, but my thought process quickly halted when Aerrow placed one of his hands slightly on top of mine that was on the kitchen counter as his other arm reached around the other side of me to give me the towel he had been using. In doing this, Aerrow ended up being even closer to me than before causing me to freeze in surprise. I somehow managed to take the towel from his hand though.

Managing to look up at my friend as well, Aerrow soon whispered, "I've got to go help Radarr, are you okay to finish up by yourself?" I simply nodded my head, not being able to talk as I was still stunned because of how close Aerrow was to me.

Even though I had already answered his question, Aerrow's hand stayed where it was, and his eyes continued to look into mine. I was beginning to wonder what was running through his head until both of us turned towards Radarr as he began to cough, and once he saw we were looking at him, he raised an eyebrow as he glanced back and forth between the two of us.

I began to feel a searing heat rush into my cheeks again, and I saw that Aerrow's face had a slightly pink tinge to it now, but he just gave me another one his lop-sided grins before he walked over to Radarr.

Leaning down so that Radarr could get onto his shoulder, Aerrow's co-pilot quickly clambered up his arm and sat a top his shoulders. As Aerrow stood up again, I saw him glance back at me for a moment before he walked out of the door and into the hallway, and I was sort of pleasantly surprised for some reason when he gave me a quick wink even though the action made my stomach feel a bit odd.

But as Aerrow was leaving, I couldn't help but notice as well that with his arms wrapped around Aerrow's neck, Radarr kept looking between Aerrow and I. No doubt Radarr was trying to figure out why when he walked into the kitchen his best friend had been holding my hands. In all truth, I was completely sure either, yet I wasn't really complaining.

Once Aerrow and Radarr had left, I continued drying all of the remaining dishes, but I couldn't help but keep thinking about what had just happened, I mean, Aerrow has never really held my hands like that before. Mind you, up until last night he'd never really told me that I was smart, beautiful, and independent.

Okay, he may have called me smart before, but still! Something weird was up today, yet even as I headed towards the bridge to meet up with everyone else once I had finished the dishes, I couldn't help but wonder how the rest of the day would play out.

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**Okay everyone, before I go, I just wanted to let you guys know to keep an eye out on my profile over the next few days, I'm going to post up a really important announcement on it soon that a few, but not many of you know about. And trust me, I think you might want to check it out, and I'll make sure to mention whether its there yet or not the next time I update this story. **

**_Crimson Fox4_**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own the Storm Hawks, they are the property of Nerd Corps.**

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Chapter 5

I was once again clearing dishes off of the table, except this time we had just finished eating our Christmas dinner. However, unlike after breakfast this morning, Aerrow hadn't offered to help me with the dishes again, and the same thing happened after lunch.

It felt like we had been ignoring each other all day ever since Radarr had walked in on us holding hands. I was just glad that to the best of my knowledge Radarr hadn't tried to tell any of our other squad-mates yet, which I guess would be kind of hard anyways, but I was still glad.

I have to admit though, doing dishes by myself on Christmas day felt kind of weird. It had almost become a tradition of ours ever since we became a squadron a few years ago that Aerrow and I would always wash the dishes together on Christmas.

Shrugging off the fact that I was washing dishes alone, I reminded myself that it was probably better this way anyways since everyone had retreated to their rooms after supper to wait for Radarr to come and get their 'Secret Santa' gift and to deliver it to whomever they had gotten it for.

I grinned to myself as I remembered Radarr's smiling face as I gave him the gift I had gotten him as this year I was his 'Secret Santa'. The light blue creature had given me a hug before he ran away with his day passes to the terra of giant bananas in his paws.

It had actually been awhile since I had last seen Radarr, and I had already finished putting the leftovers away and cleaning all of the dishes.

As I shut the last cupboard door, as if on cue, I heard the kitchen door behind me open. Turning around, I saw that it was Radarr who had entered the room. I kneeled down as he came closer to me, and I gave him a warm smile before asking, "How're the deliveries going?"

Radarr gave a shrug and a small chirp of sorts before he reached into his pocket and handed me a small piece of folded green paper. "What's this Radarr?" I questioned as I took the paper from his paws.

Aerrow's co-pilot once more gave a shrug in reply as I unfolded the paper to see there was a note scrawled inside;

_Piper,_

_Meet me on the bridge balcony in an hour –I want to give you your gift in person._

_~Your Secret Santa_

Reading the note over once more, I began to ask, "Radarr, who's this-" I paused as I looked up from the note to see that Radarr had disappeared before I finished in a perplexed whisper, "from?"

Shaking my head as I stood up from where I was still kneeling, I walked out of the kitchen and headed to my room, questions swirling around inside my head. I knew that the next hour couldn't pass quick enough.

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**Short and sweet! :P**

**Okay, for those who are wondering, whenever I post up the final chapter of this story will be when my 'announcement ' will be posted up on my profile unless I mention otherwise.**

**_Crimson Fox4_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone, here's the final chapter of this story, about... I don't know.... at least three or so months overdue? Well anyways, I hope you all have enjoyed this story despite it being out of season, and I hope this chapter flows well enough, I kind of had to smush together two versions of the ending since I didn't like the first one, so yeah.... **

**I do not own the Storm Hawks, the are the property of Nerd Corps.**

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Chapter 6

Walking onto the bridge, I was surprised to see that no one was there. It was only nine o'clock after all, but maybe all of the guys were too stuffed from the turkey at supper to move anymore.

My gaze swept the empty bridge, and I noticed that nothing seemed to be out of place, but one thing that I thought was sort of peculiar was that the shutters for the large glass windows were down.

Looking down at the green note in my hand, I couldn't help but wonder for the hundredth time which team member could possibly be the one that asked me to meet them rather than just have Radarr deliver their present. I shrugged off the thought quickly though before I squared my shoulders and walked across the vacant room towards the door that led to the balcony.

My finger hovering over the button that would open the door, I took a moment to try and calm myself down before I pushed the button and stepped out onto the dimly lit platform.

Walking towards the railing, I leaned against it and enjoyed the cool winter air in my face for a moment before I turned around and tried to see if my 'Secret Santa' was here yet, and that's when I noticed a lone figure standing on the other end of the balcony. I thought of shouting out to them, but I then decided that maybe just walking over would be better.

As I got closer to them, I made sure they could hear me coming so I wouldn't startle them, and finally once I was a few feet away from the silhouetted figure, they turned around and stepped into the dim light.

I felt my heart skip a beat when I realized that it was Aerrow standing in front of me, there was no mistaking his ruby red hair even in this light. Although I couldn't quite figure it out, something about his hair seemed slightly different.

"Hey." Aerrow said quietly, looking at me with a small, almost cheeky grin on his face.

"Hey." I replied, flashing a grin.

"So Radarr gave you my note?" Aerrow asked before I gave him a nod, taking said note out of my pocket for a moment to show him before I put it back.

Aerrow nodded, and looked out at the night sky for a little bit before he glanced back at me with a smile as he said, "Radarr says thanks for his gift by the way."

"I figured he'd like it." I replied before I moved to stand next to Aerrow who was leaning on the railing of the balcony while I asked, "Who was your Secret Santa this year?"

"Radarr actually was."

Grinning, I asked, "What did he get you?"

It was now Aerrow's turn to grin as he said, "He got me a hairbrush."

Trying to fight my urge to giggle, I questioned, "Doesn't he know your hair is untameable?"

Smiling amusedly as he pointed to his hair, Aerrow told me, "That didn't stop Radarr from trying."

Taking a second look at Aerrow's hair, I realized that it did appear to be a bit neater than usual, but I just smirked as I reached up and tousled Aerrow's mop of red hair with my hand before I told him, "It's too bad for Radarr that your hair looks better messy."

Aerrow began to smirk too, but it soon disappeared as his eyes suddenly lit up as he said, "Speaking of gifts…" trailing off, Aerrow took out a small box from his pocket with a flourish. Looking at it with a hint of pride showing in his eyes, he placed it in my hands before he whispered, "Here's yours."

I could feel a slight blush trying to work its way onto my face at the feeling Aerrow's fingertips brushing past mine, but I managed to push it down.

Wondering what could be in the small box he had just given me, I raised one of my eyebrows in Aerrow's direction, but he just motioned for me to go ahead and open it, so I did.

After taking off the dark blue, red, and green satin ribbons that were wrapped around the box, I slowly lifted the lid off, gasping at what I found inside.

"Aerrow, it's so beautiful!" I cooed as I carefully took a very colourful bracelet out of the little box.

Smiling, he said, "I'm glad that you like it Piper, but its not quite as beautiful as you are."

Looking up to see Aerrow's cheeks take on a pink tinge, I felt mine do the same as he took one of my hands and led me to where the lighting was better.

Taking the bracelet from my left hand where I had been holding it, Aerrow wrapped it around and secured it on my right wrist before he let go of it. I studied the crystals hanging from the bracelet for a moment before I heard Aerrow say, "It's an elemental bracelet you know."

As I stopped admiring my present, I looked up at Aerrow and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, like you now probably know, it has about five crystal shards on it. One is a phoenix crystal shard, another can control plants and earth, another is a wind stone like the one Wren gave us, and the fourth one allows you to manipulate water."

Grinning at Aerrow, I said, "I get it now, it allows me a little bit of control over some of the elements." Aerrow grinned with me before I asked, "But what does the fifth one do?"

Giving me a knowing smile, Aerrow took my left hand in his before he wrapped it around one of the crystals hanging from my new bracelet. Letting go of my hand that I kept wrapped around the cool feeling crystal, Aerrow simply said, "Think… snow."

Closing my eyes to concentrate for a moment, my eyes fluttered open as I felt something cold hit my face. Looking up, I smiled as I saw what must have been thousands of snowflakes begin to float lazily down from the clouds overhead.

I placed one of my hands on the railing to support myself as I continued to look at the falling snow above me before I asked in a whisper, "It was a blizzard crystal, wasn't it?"

With silence being my only answer, I was about to look away from the falling snow to figure out where Aerrow was when out of the corner of my eye I saw Christmas lights begin to flicker on all over the place. As I turned my eyes downward off of the balcony to see all of the lights that had been twisted and strung around this and that on the Condor, I suddenly felt a spark of heat in my hand that was on the railing.

Glancing down at it, I saw that Aerrow had placed his hand over mine, and looking up at him, I saw him begin to smile gently before he replied to my earlier question, "Yeah, it was a blizzard crystal, and I think that one has to be my favourite."

Not being able to help myself, I giggled quietly before I whispered, "Me too." Before I threw my arms around Aerrow's neck and gave him a hug.

I could tell Aerrow was surprised as I felt him stumble back a few steps after I had thrown myself at him. He stood rigid for a moment afterwards before I felt his arms wrap around my back, and his head lean against mine.

I enjoyed being in Aerrow's arms for a moment more before I whispered "Thanks Aerrow – for everything." In his ear before I pulled back from him a little, yet he kept me in his embrace.

Looking up at Aerrow questioningly for a moment, he simply nodded in the general direction of the landing strip below the balcony, and I was surprised to see even more lights flicker on. When I finally thought that all of the lights were turned on, suddenly the railing on the balcony lit up in red, green, and white and I couldn't help but wonder how I didn't notice all of the lights wrapped around the railing before.

Looking up at Aerrow again, I asked, "Did you do all this?"

I saw Aerrow smirk a little as lights turned on above us, revealing many sprigs of mistletoe hanging over the balcony including one over top of where we were standing.

"Oh, so it was Finn, was it?" I commented.

Looking back down at me, Aerrow just shrugged his shoulders as he said, "The rest of it looked nice enough. I didn't know he had all of this mistletoe out here though… this must be why none of it was hanging up inside this morning, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I replied before I hugged Aerrow again, enjoying being in his arms, I just listened to the steady beating of his heart as I looked out at the night sky where the snow created by my new bracelet still drifted downwards, destined for the terras and wastelands below.

Snuggling into Aerrow's form a little bit more, I told him quietly, "This has to be the weirdest Christmas we've ever had."

Pulling back a little so he could look at my face, Aerrow asked, "Is that a bad thing?"

Grinning up at Aerrow, I replied, "It may be the weirdest Christmas yet, but you know what else?"

"Hm?" came from Aerrow as he looked into my eyes.

"It has also been the best Christmas I could ever ask for."

Smiling back down at me, Aerrow leaned down, and his face, and lips, slowing coming closer to my face until they were only an inch or two away from mine and I was beginning to close my eyes, accepting what I thought Aerrow was going to do when the shutters on the bridge windows opened, dousing the balcony in artificial light and temporarily blinding us.

Blinking several times, I looked to Aerrow's face to see that he was looking through the bridge windows to the inside of the Condor, his face slightly flushed.

Following his gaze, I moaned once I realized that Radarr was at Finn's feet, both with flabbergasted expressions on their faces. Turning to face each other, a sneaky smile slowly grew on Finn's face before he yelled through the glass, "Get in here lover boy!"

Looking at Aerrow, I saw his ears turn red, and I'm sure mine did too as Finn added, "And bring your girlfriend too! We're trying to figure out what terra we're going to visit tomorrow."

Glancing down at me with embarrassment, Aerrow whispered, "Sorry."

Smiling playfully at him, I said, "Don't worry about it, you now have an excuse to kill him later if you want."

Smirking, Aerrow freed me from his embrace before he draped his arm around my shoulders as he began to lead me slowly to the door that connected the balcony to the bridge.

Pausing in the doorway, I looked back over my shoulder at the snow, happy we had had a white Christmas of sorts, even if the snow hadn't been completely real.

Turning back around, I felt a slight wave of heat spread across my face as Aerrow leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, his eyes shining mischievously as he pointed upwards and said, "I don't know if we should be annoyed or not that Finn hung up so much mistletoe."

Not being able to resist the urge to smirk as I eyed the plant hanging above the doorway, I motioned to my right pointing out Finn looking at us with a gaping mouth, and eyes open wide before I replied, "Maybe you should ask Finn when he's finished his impression of a fish."

Laughing, Aerrow took my hand and led me to the doorway that led to the hallway to try and find the rest of our friends that weren't frozen like statues, but to remedy that dilemma Aerrow gave Finn a whack on the back as we walked past him to wake him from his surprised stupor.

Grinning at his sharpshooter, Aerrow told him, "Merry Christmas Finn, you're the first one to know."

_Oh beneath the mistletoe,_

_Where young love can be found, fed or enjoyed;_

_Two Storm Hawks shared their first 'almost' kiss._

_Oh amongst the snow, beneath the mistletoe!_

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**Well everyone, I hope you liked it!**

**Now, as I've been mentioning lately, there is going to be a VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT on my profile soon. And soon is NOW. If you read my stories (obviously you do if you're reading this, but anyways....) this announcement applies to you. Also, if you know any other authors that read my stories but not this one, can you please make sure they read it as well? Thanks!**

**_Crimson Fox4_**


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